Flower Messages
by A.R.C.Fangirl 0w0v
Summary: Shuuzou has been spending summers at a flower farm for the last three years, but this is the first time he finds himself drawn to the beautiful melodies of a violin. From where? A little red haired boy staying up the hill. With Shuuzou now smitten with the new boy, it's up to his friends to help with his crush. How? Through flowers! Sequel to 'Flower Boys', NijiAka, side KiyoHana


Flowers. Flowers. More flowers. Nothing but flowers. That was all Shuuzou saw, days on end, for three summers in a row. Well, flowers weren't too bad. At least his friend's family flowers weren't.

"Don't you never get sick of flowers?" Shuuzou asked his friend, Makoto, as he watered flowers.

"Not really," Makoto answered. "You get used to it."

"This is my third summer; I'm not used to it," Shuuzou grumbled

"Yeah, but we weren't talking about if _you_ were used to it, were we?" Makoto sassed with a smirk.

Shuuzou narrowed his eyes at the flower boy.

"Mako-chan!" called another voice. The two boys turned, the shorter of the two groaning. "Mako-chan!" Reo.

"See, if you helped out, we could've been done and gone before Reo got here," Makoto grumbled as Reo headed over to them.

"They're your chores," Shuuzou responded, smiling and waving as their friend reached them. "Hey, Reo."

"Shuu-chan! You're staying with your family for the summer again?" Reo asked, happy to see Shuuzou.

Shuuzou nodded. "Yeah, but I've mostly been playing with Makoto since I got here."

Reo turned and narrowed his eyes are Makoto. "Shuu-chan was here this whole time and you didn't say anything!?" he huffed.

Makoto gave a measly shrug, going back to finishing up watering the flowers. "Never came up."

"Really now?" Shuuzou asked, amused as usual by Makoto. His friend only shrugged again, making him laugh. "I'm guessing that means the others don't know I'm here either."

"You wanted Shuu-chan all to yourself, didn't you, Mako-chan?" Reo accused.

"More like I didn't want anyone bothering us," Makoto clarified. It was clear Shuuzou was the only one he tolerated enough to admit was his friend.

"Aw, I'm your favorite," Shuuzou teased.

"Careful, Mako-chan," Reo joined. "Teppei-chan won't be happy if you like someone else~"

"Shut up!" Makoto fumed, his friends laughing at how his cheeks dusted pink a bit.

"How'd that go again, Reo?" Shuuzou asked, ignoring Makoto. "He won't tell me."

"Shut up!" Makoto repeated, even more pink.

"That's right! That was before you started coming here," Reo started, ignoring Makoto as well.

"Shut up!" Makoto yelled once more.

"Woah, what's all the yelling about?" another new voice joined in. Eikichi, followed by Kotarou and Teppei.

"Shuuzou! You're here!" Kotarou exclaimed, jumping on Shuuzou with a tight hug.

"Hey, man," Shuuzou greeted back with a smile.

At the same time, Reo was answering Eikichi's question. "Shuu-chan wasn't here yet when Teppei-chan lifted Mako-chan off his feet and twirled him in a field of flowers."

"Woah, woah, really?" Shuuzou asked, beginning to snicker along with Eikichi and Kotarou belting out laughter while Reo was squealing at the 'memory.'

"That's not what happened, idiot!" Makoto yelled, ready to attack. Only, Teppei held him back.

Teppei seemed to be the only one set on sharing the actual story. He began explaining, though with a sheepish blush. "Makoto helped me make a flower crown, and I gave him flowers."

"Flower. Actually not even a flower," Makoto corrected. "A weed."

"But you did help him and he did give you something?" Shuuzou pointed out, smirking.

"Shut. Up," Makoto hissed, beginning to take back admitting Shuuzou was his friend.

Shuuzou turned to Teppei. "I can't believe you'd do that, Teppei. And for _Makoto_ of all people!"

Teppei bashfully blushed more, holding onto Makoto tighter.

Shuuzou gave another chortle, though still thought about what the others said. "More flowers, huh…"

Reo looked perplexed at Shuuzou. He seemed to be the only one who noticed the other boy was not quite with them. The others were running about from Makoto's wrath. "Shuu-chan, everything okay?"

Shuuzou perked up when snapped out of his thought. "What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

Reo narrowed his eyes. He didn't buy Shuuzou's words. "Shuu-chan, what's going on?"

"It's nothing," Shuuzou answered, this time avoiding Reo's watchful gaze. It uneased him.

Reo drew out Shuuzou's name, "Shuu-chan, you're lying to me."

"Am not."

"Are to."

"Am not!"

"Are to!"

"Am not!"

"Shuu-chan's lying!" Reo shouted, breaking the chain to get the other's attention.

Kotarou was first to respond, jumping Reo like he did before with Shuuzou. "Eh!? About what!?"

"There's something wrong with him," Reo answered.

"What? Is he sick?" Eikichi asked, taking a closer look at Shuuzou. "Looks fine to me."

"That's because I am fine," Shuuzou responded, shoving Eikichi back when he got too close for comfort.

"He was fine a second ago," Teppei said, concerned. What Shuuzou said a second ago bounced right off him. "What happened?"

"Well, I think there was something about flowers," Reo shared what he thought he picked up.

"W-what? No," Shuuzou rejected, starting to heat up.

"And we were just talking about Teppei-chan giving Mako-chan flowers…" Reo mumbled, thinking more on the matter. He gasped, turning to Shuuzou. "You want to give someone flowers, too, Shuu-chan!?"

"No!" Shuuzou instantly denied, cheeks completely pink.

"You do!" Reo squealed.

"And you were just making fun of me about flowers!" Makoto spat, irked.

"Is it someone we know?" Teppei asked.

"It's nobody!" Shuuzou continued denying.

"I bet it's someone in the village," Kotarou suggested.

"Has to be," Eikichi agreed.

"No!" Shuuzou shouted. Now everyone was ignoring him.

"Oh! Let's go find who!" Kotarou suggested. "For them to be someone _Shuuzou_ likes, must be quite the person!"

"Good idea," Eikichi encouraged, though more to see how far Kotarou would go. "Let's go now."

"Yes!" Kotarou enthusiastically cheered, already running off with Eikichi.

"Wait, Ko-chan! You're gonna get yourself in trouble again!" Reo called, running off as well.

That left Shuuzou with Makoto and Teppei.

"Oi, Teppei," Makoto started, picking his watering can back up. He passed it to Teppei. "Make yourself useful and water those flowers."

"Kay!" Teppei happily obliged. He scampered off to water the flowers, leaving Shuuzou with Makoto.

"Alright, what's this about flowers now?" Makoto asked, though with a devious smirk.

Shuuzou narrowed his eyes at Makoto. "Just drop it."

Makoto began casually strolling off. "Okay~ But you do remember I'm the best when it comes to all things flowers right?"

Shuuzou balled his fist, irked by Makoto's teasing. He watched his friend head towards Teppei before finally giving in and stopping him. "Alright, I'll hear what you have to say."

Even though he was smiling, Makoto waved a finger at him. "Uh uh uh~ I want a name."

"Dude!"

"Name."

Shuuzou fumed at this. He lowered his head, blushing madly as he muttered, "I don't know it…"

"You don't know!?" Teppei jumped in.

"Teppei!" Shuuzou and Makoto yelled. Shuuzou was even more embarrassed while Makoto was mad Teppei interfered.

"But I thought you knew everyone here," Teppei continued.

Realization struck Makoto. He snapped his fingers. "It's that one family staying in the big house on the hill, isn't it? Gamma told me about people staying there for vacation."

"Oh yeah," Teppei breathed, turning from Makoto back to Shuuzou. "You pass that house getting here, don't you?"

The two boys offered Shuuzou smiles while he was cringing with his hands covering his face. Teppei gave a sheepish one while Makoto a mocking one.

Makoto turned back to Teppei. "Wanna help out Shuuzou?"

Shuuzou looked up. "Eh?"

Makoto put up another friendly smile, though Shuuzou saw through it. "Yeah, what are friends for?"

"No no—"

"Yeah!" Teppei cut in obliviously.

Shuuzou frowned. He knew once Teppei wanted to help, no one could deny him. He knew Makoto knew that as well.

"Wanna head there now?" Teppei asked.

"That's a great idea," Makoto encouraged, Teppei smiling even brighter. "Actually, let me get something first."

Makoto quickly ran into his grandparents' flower shack. With his grandparents' permission, he made a little bouquet of pink, red, and white camellias. After a quick finishing touch, he darted back out.

"Can't show up empty handed," Makoto said when handing Shuuzou the beautiful bouquet.

Now Shuuzou really didn't have a choice.

Makoto and Teppei dragged Shuuzou all the way to the house on the hill. No matter how much he tried to fight it, he couldn't shake them loose. On the way, the three ran into the others as well. When Makoto told them they were headed to Nijimura's crush, even more hell broke loose. Especially with Reo seeing the dumb flowers.

Eikichi gave a low whistle when they reached the house. "It's even bigger in person. My dad never let me come and check it out. He said uppity city folk stay here."

"I bet," Kotarou said in awe. "Do you think we can go inside?"

"Ko-chan," Reo scolded. He turned to Shuuzou. "So, how're you going to give the flowers?"

"Who're you giving the flowers to?" Teppei asked.

"Guys, wait," Shuuzou shushed his friends.

The group of 10-year-olds froze. A melody of soft strings fluttered through the open air. Following the melody, Shuuzou lead the group. This wasn't the first time he went to find the source of the music.

The six of them went around the side. They peaked around the corner of the house, seeing a nicely furnished yard overlooking the fields of flowers. Sitting on a white garden chair by a matching table was a woman holding a lace parasol. Beside the woman was the source of the music, a young boy playing a piece on a violin. Everything about the scene screamed elegance.

The boys listened in silence to the beautiful melody. This was what caught Shuuzou's attention days ago when passing the house. The violinist played endlessly and Shuuzou couldn't help but be drawn in. The soothing tune and how at peace the other boy was when he caught a glimpse, Shuuzou could listen and watch all day.

The music stopped. The boy brought down his bow and violin to his side. Clapping then filled the air, the woman standing and heading towards the boy. Shuuzou and the others were able to get a better look at the two.

The boy was small, even smaller than Makoto. So he had to be younger than them. His hair was red and so were his eyes, matching the woman's they assumed was his mother. They looked alike despite the boy's hair being short and the woman's long.

"That was beautiful, Seijuurou," the woman praised, ruffling the boy's hair.

The boy, Seijuurou, smiled softly. "Thank you, Mother."

"You've been practicing that piece for quite some time now, haven't you?"

Seijuurou nodded.

Seijuurou's mother smiled. "Do you want to keep playing or shall we go for a walk?"

"We can walk," Seijuurou answered, trotting over to his violin case to put his instrument away. "Will Father be able to join us?"

The woman's smile saddened. "Not today. You know how busy he can be. Even on family trips."

"Yes, Mother."

Makoto was the first to realize the mother-son duo was going to head their way. Hastily, he yanked everyone back. That was all he needed to do to get the message across, everyone beginning to scramble away.

The boys darted back to the front of the house. Knowing there was no way they'd be able to keep out of sight for much longer, the six of them jumped to a blind spot. They hid behind a wall beside the stairs leading up to the main doors.

After catching his breath, Shuuzou peeked over the edge of the wall. He watched Seijuurou and his mother come into view, the younger boy holding onto his mother's hand as they began their stroll.

"That was close," Kotarou breathed once they were in the clear.

"So, is it the Seijuurou boy?" Reo asked Shuuzou with a knowing smirk.

Shuuzou only narrowed his eyes at Reo.

"Aww, we missed the chance to give him the flowers," Teppei whined, looking sadly at the bouquet still in Shuuzou's hands. "What now?"

"We could come back later when they come back," Eikichi answered. "Or just meet them down there. They probably went to see the flowers."

"That's not a bad idea," Makoto said. "Visitors always come for the flowers."

"No, let's not," Shuuzou shot down. "I mean, I just like the music. I don't really need to give him flowers or anything. Besides, he's clearly here for just the summer and so am I."

"So?" Kotarou asked innocently. "Teppei only comes here for the summer, too, and he and Makoto still really like each other."

Makoto furiously blushed, smacking his friend, while Teppei sheepishly smiled with his own blush. He scratched the back of his neck, agreeing with Kotarou. "You have fun with the time you have."

Shuuzou pursed his lips in a pout. "This is so stupid…" he grumbled, looking down at the flowers.

Eikichi supportively patting Shuuzou's back. "Your call on what to do, man."

Thinking about his friends' words, Shuuzou looked from the bouquet to the house. Questioning his sanity, he began making his way back around the house again. However, he didn't go all the way to the back.

During one of the many times he found himself listening to Seijuurou's music, Shuuzou actually found which window belonged to his room. Seijuurou played there most of the time with the window open, like how it was right now.

Shuuzou looked from the window to the tree closest to it. There was a branch he could definitely use to place the flowers on the open windowsill. With a determined nod, he began climbing the tree.

"You know which one's his room?" Makoto asked when Shuuzou started climbing. "That's kinda creepy."

"Shut it," Shuuzou spat. "It wasn't like I was trying to find it exactly. I just followed the music and saw him through the window."

"That's not helping," Makoto responded.

"Mako-chan," Reo scolded. He turned back to Shuuzou, who was finally reaching the branch. "Don't worry about him, Shuu-chan! It's super romantically sweet."

"Shut it, Reo…" Shuuzou grumbled more to himself, getting even more embarrassed.

Shuuzou carefully scooted across the branch. His heart was beating fast from the fear of falling and the nervousness of actually giving flowers to the boy he liked. Hesitantly, he placed the flowers on the open windowsill. After repositioning the flowers more nicely, Shuuzou turned down to his friends to give a weary smile and thumbs up.

Makoto and the others returned the thumbs up gestures from below. They were happy for their friend. Until said friend began wobbling when trying to scoot back to get down.

Shuuzou was awkwardly scooting back on the branch so he could climb down the tree trunk. Sadly, the branch creaked from his weight. Shuuzou tensed, his heart skipping a bit. The branch was fine, but the boy lost his own balance. He yelped as he fell.

Jumping into action, the boys on the ground rushed to their falling friend. They managed to reach Shuuzou in time, though more to cushion his fall when they all ended up on the ground after trying to catch him.

Groans filled the air while Shuuzou sheepishly gave his thanks. "Thanks, guys." He wasn't hurt with the cushioned fall; however, the others weren't in perfect shape.

* * *

Upon returning back to the summer house with his mother, Seijuurou went straight to his room. His mother was going to prepare for supper, so he thought he'd keep himself busy with his violin again.

Seijuurou closed the door behind him when entering his room. He placed his violin case on his bed, unlatching the clasps. Upon taking out his violin and bow, somehow out of place caught Seijuurou's eye.

Curiously, he set his instrument back down before heading over to what was on his open windowsill: a small bouquet of flowers.

Seijuurou picked up the bouquet, curiously eying the arrangement. His mind was drawing a blank as to how it got in his room. It couldn't have been his mother; he was with her all day and would've noticed if she left something. There was certainly no chance of it being from his father. The maids? No, they didn't go in Seijuurou's room. Butler? But he'd be with his father the whole time. It was certainly too nice to just end up on his windowsill because of the wind or anything absurd like that.

Seijuurou twirled the small bouquet between his fingers. He still had no idea where it could have come from, so for now the boy let it slide.

Seijuurou continued twirling the flowers, though a soft smile grew on his lips. The three flowers were beautiful. Instead of tossing it aside, he took it back downstairs to put it in a vase of water. When he brought it back to his room, Seijuurou made sure to set it right by the window for the sun to shine on it.

After admiring the flower's beauty in the rays of sunlight, Seijuurou went back to his violin. He couldn't help but play with a smile this time as he stared endearingly at the flowers. They felt like an audience to little Seijuurou.

Seijuurou spent the rest of his time playing to his new little audience. He played until dinner. He played after dinner. He played after his bath. He even played the next morning until his mother called him down to enjoy the sun with her outside.

"You've been playing so much, Seijuurou," Seijuurou's mother chimed, smiling endearingly down at her precious son.

Seijuurou smiled shyly at his mother. "I've just been having the urge to play."

Seijuurou's mother grew. "I'm glad you can play with such joy."

The mother and son pair then went on their walk to the flower fields as they had done the day before. This time, Seijuurou was more interested in the flowers they passed and viewed, even recognizing some of the flowers being the same as the ones in his room. He had no idea flowers could have such an effect, now understanding part of why his mother loved them so much.

After their walk, Seijuurou and his mother returned to the house. Seijuurou's mother went to prepare dinner just as before, as Seijuurou returned to his room. He was just about to pick up his violin once more, but something caught his eye by the windowsill once again: another little bouquet.

Seijuurou trotted over to the flowers, picking them up curiously like he had done before with the other bouquet. He didn't examine the flowers as much as the first ones that were placed at his windowsill, moving to look out the window this time. He looked all around, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Seijuurou pulled himself back in. He looked down at the beautiful flowers once more. Another mystery bouquet. However, instead of three flowers that were the same but different colors, this bouquet had three different flowers that were the same white color.

Even though he didn't have the slightest clue where the bouquets came from, Seijuurou still smiled at the flowers. He left the room just as before to fill a vase, and placed the new bouquet right by the other in the sunlight. His audience grew.

Every day, his audience was growing. Just like the two days before, Seijuurou joined his mother on a stroll. Upon his return, a third bouquet was waiting for him at his windowsill. When the occurrence happened a fourth time, Seijuurou finally asked the maids, the butler, even his mother about the flowers. Sadly, no one had a clue about where they came from.

However, going to the adults wasn't all for naught. Seijuurou learned a bit about the flowers from his mother, who dabbled in the art of flower language.

He learned the first bouquet were of Camellia flowers, a different meaning behind each other. Pink: longing for you. Red: you are a flame in my heart. White: you are adorable.

The second bouquet of three flowers had different meanings behind them as well. Gardenia: secret love. Gloxinia: love at first sight. Jonquil: love me back.

Bouquet three was of an arrangement of colorful Primroses: I can't live without you.

By bouquet four, Seijuurou realized the pattern. This bouquet was of violets. White: let's take a chance on happiness. Blue: I'll always be true.

The morning of day five, Seijuurou silently looked at the row of flowers sitting in the sun. He wasn't entirely sure of what to think with his cheeks dusting pink. The meaning behind all the flowers could just be coincidental, however Seijuurou had doubts with how much they matched.

Wanting to know more, Seijuurou pulled out a blank stationery from his things. Composed, Seijuurou wrote to the mystery sender. He may still be a child, but he still had a way with words.

As Seijuurou was finishing up, his mother called him for their daily stroll. He knew that was when another bouquet would be left for him, so the boy placed the card on the windowsill before joining his mother.

* * *

"Are your grandparents really okay with me taking your flowers?" Shuuzou asked once climbing the tree he had been using to get to Seijuurou's window. It was day five and he had yet to actually pay for any of the bouquets Makoto made for him to give.

"Yeah, they said it was fine," Makoto called from below. He was waiting with the others, all six boys always going together when Shuuzou left flowers for Seijuurou.

"Did you tell them what they were for?" Eikichi asked.

"I think they had a hunch," Makoto responded with a shrug. "They've been in the flower business forever now."

"Uh, guys," Shuuzou called from the tree upon, gaining everyone's full attention. He held up a card. "Is this for me?"

"Shuuzou, you're not supposed to rob him!" Makoto yelled.

"I'm not!" Shuuzou yelled back. "It was sitting at where I usually leave the flowers!"

Reo excited squealed. "It's definitely for you!"

"Open it! Open it!" Kotarou enthusiastically called, hopping place excitedly. "What does it say!?"

"Oi! We don't know for sure if it is for me," Shuuzou responded, blushing as he nervously looked down at the card.

"Is there anything on the front or anything?" Teppei asked helpfully.

Shuuzou was silent. There was writing on the front. 'To Mystery Messenger' read the writing too neat to be a kid's. Shuuzou hissed under his breath, taking the card as he went down. Of course he still left the bouquet of red, yellow, and variegated tulips.

Once Shuuzou reached the ground, the six boys took off running back to their play spot by the creek. The whole time, the others were badgering Shuuzou on what could possibly be written on the card. Now that they had reached the creek, it was time they found out.

"Open it! Open it!" Kotarou repeated.

"I am," Shuuzou hissed, lifting the envelope flap. He was even more hesitant on pulling the card out, especially with his friends around.

"Read what it says!" Reo squeal, waiting in anticipation.

Shuuzou was shakily pulling the card out, but froze before it was free. "I can't," he chickened out.

"Oh, come on! We wanna know!" Eikichi whined, Reo and Kotarou clearly agreeing with their cries.

"Well I don't want you guys to know!" Shuuzou yelled back, furiously blushing.

"I think he's right," Teppei sided with Shuuzou, offering a nervous smile. "It is addressed to him."

"But we were always there when he left the flowers!" Reo whined. "It's basically for all of us!"

"No it isn't!" Shuuzou disagreed.

As everyone began arguing, Makoto flat out snatched the card from Shuuzou's grasp.

"No!" Shuuzou yelped when Makoto took it suddenly and yanked the card from the envelope. All Makoto had to do was open it a crack before Shuuzou stole the card back, as Makoto knew he would. The smaller boy was only acting to manipulate Shuuzou into taking action.

"Well, what're you waiting for now?" Makoto asked with a sly smile. Shuuzou would have surely smacked him if he wasn't hunched over protectively over the card.

Shuuzou glared Makoto down with his signature pout. His eyes then dropped down to the card in his hand. Heart beating fast, he began reading the letter.

' _Dear Mystery Messenger,_

' _Thank you for the flowers. I truly love them. They act like a little audience to me when I practice my violin._

' _If I may ask, who are you? I would love to know who the one leaving these flowers for me is. Don't you want to meet?_

' _I shall wait for you tomorrow morning by my window if you would allow me the pleasure of meeting you. If not, I cannot say that I would understand, but I would still like you to thank you once again for the flowers._

' _I hope you do come._

' _Akashi Seijuurou'_

Shuuzou's face was as red as a rose once finishing the letter. He turned to his friends, who were eagerly staring at him. "H-he wants to meet me. Like, really meet me."

"Nuh uh!" Kotarou squawked in disbelieve, smiling widely for his friend.

Not quite believing it either, Makoto snatched the letter back once more. He read it over. Even the others joined in, reading over his shoulder. Shuuzou had tried to snatch it back once more, but Eikichi was pushing him back as he read as well.

"Shuu-chan!" Reo squealed. Everything was getting so romantic to him.

"Is he really younger than us?" Eikichi asked after Shuuzou swiped his note back. "Who writes like that?"

"He seems like a fancy person," Teppei shared his idea.

A thought then came to Kotarou. "But, Shuuzou isn't that fancy. What if Seijuurou sees him and changes his mind?" he asked. Kotarou was completely oblivious with what asking, not realizing how his words practically killed Shuuzou inside.

"Ko-chan!" Reo scolded as Teppei comforted Shuuzou, who was like curled on like a ball.

"I'm not going," Shuuzou decided.

"What!?" everyone shouted.

"You have to!" Reo yelled.

"What about all the flowers?" Teppei asked.

"You climbed a tree for this guy!" Eikichi.

"Shuuzou, no! He's gonna love you for sure!" Kotarou.

As everyone did their best to encourage him, Shuuzou only shrunk more. It uselessly went on for a while until Makoto stepped up.

Makoto only need to two steps before everyone moved aside for him to reach Shuuzou. It went quiet as well. When noticing the silence, Shuuzou turned up and saw Makoto towering over him for once. After sharing eye contact for a second, Makoto smacked Shuuzou upside the head.

"Ow! What was that for!?" Shuuzou yelled, shooting back up.

"For your stupid, chicken-ness," Makoto answered matter-of-factly. He placed his hands on his hips, putting on a crossed face. "He wants to meet you, after all that you better meet him."

"But—"

"No buts!" Makoto cut in. "If you don't show up, know what gonna happen? He's going to go on thinking back to this summer and wonder for years to come who left flowers on his window. Or worse, forget all about the flowers eventually and never think back about you. Do you want that? No! Now you better get your whiney butt ready for tomorrow or so help me I'll take all your credit!"

"Makoto, no!" Teppei jumped in after the end of Makoto's rank, latching onto his flower boy as tightly as he could. Makoto didn't seem to give him any attention, continuing to glare down Shuuzou, who was speechless.

Shuuzou took in everything Makoto said. The smaller boy was right. He couldn't back out now. Seijuurou _wanted_ to meet him, so there was a chance. If anything, they could at least be friends and the future was unpredictable. Seijuurou could be a summer returnee just like him, Teppei, and Reo.

Shuuzou finally stood again. "You're right," he said with newfound confidence. "Tomorrow's gonna be the day."

Reo and Kotarou cheered for their friend while Makoto gave a smug nod. Teppei was clapping, happy for Shuuzou as well, but more relieved Makoto wasn't going to go through with the threat. They all knew Makoto would to spite someone. And Eikichi…

Eikichi stared mildly dumbfounded, nose scrunched up. "You guys, we're 10…"

* * *

After much preparation on Shuuzou's side with the help of his friends, the next morning finally came. Shuuzou did his best to remember what the other's taught and advised him to do. Kotarou showed him how to make his smile more cheerful. Teppei tutored him on being more friendly and not as rough around the edges. Reo picked out what he should wear with a lot of compromising on both sides. Eikichi gave him tips on how to bring out his good side. Finally, Makoto supplied the usual, beautiful flowers.

"How do I look?" Shuuzou asked through a forced smile. The six of them were nearing Seijuurou's house, running through last minute touch ups. "Well?"

The others stared at Shuuzou, their friend looking very stiff and…

"Uncomfortable," Makoto bluntly answered what everyone was thinking. He was the only one who didn't care enough to spare Shuuzou's feelings.

Shuuzou groaned, dropping his smile. "Maybe this wasn't all that much of a great idea."

"No no! It is!" Reo encouraged. "Come on, Shuu-chan. You're almost there."

"Just be yourself, Shuuzou," Teppei added. "You'll be fine."

"Wasn't 'myself' what you guys were trying to steer me away from yesterday?" Shuuzou asked with a brow raised. The others silenced instantly, the boy groaning once again.

"Just get it over with," Makoto said, starting to push Shuuzou forward. "Too late to back out now."

The little group continued forward until the house came closer into view. It was the same scene they saw every day, but that morning, the air felt more heavy.

The kids snuck around to the side were Seijuurou's window was like always. They stared up at it, unsure what to do next.

"He just said morning," Kotarou started. "What if this morning is too early? Did he want later morning? Is he even there? I don't see him."

"Ko-chan," Reo cut him off. "Stop."

"I'm going up," Shuuzou finally said, stepping towards the tree. He got into position like every day before and started climbing up. Once he reached the usual branch, Shuuzou looked down and saw his friends still watching him. "Alright, I made up. You guys can go now."

"And miss the big show? No way," Eikichi said.

"We're going to be right beside you until the end!" Teppei added.

"I don't want you guys to be beside me until the end!" Shuuzou fumed back, cheeks beginning to blush. His friends supplying an audience, it was just so weird and embarrassing for Shuuzou.

"Just tap the window," Makoto called from below.

Shuuzou irritably rolled his eyes. His friends… Even so, he continued on.

Shuuzou scooted along the branch, eyes on the prize. He noticed the window was open just like every other day, but what was he supposed to do? Crawl in? But Seijuurou said he was just going to meet him, so was the other boy there?

As his thoughts raced, Shuuzou reached the window. Usually, he'd just leave the flowers like he just did and scram in case there was anyone around to catch him and his friends. However, he couldn't scram this time. Instead, he looked a bit inside Seijuurou's room.

The room was very tidy, however, it could be because Seijuurou's family was just staying for the summer. It was also very light up, the sun shining through the many windows. And at one of those windows, Shuuzou spotted all the flowers he left for Seijuurou. The boy really did keep them, and kept them nicely it seemed, too, with each one comfortably in a vase.

While Shuuzou was busy admiring the flowers by the window, he failed to noticed the pair of scarlet eyes spotting him from the other side of the bed.

At first, little Seijuurou was hiding beside his bed as he waited for his mystery messenger. He had to be sure the person wasn't some bad guy after him because of his family name. So to stay on the safe side, he first hid with one of the maid's brooms. It was also why he said to meet at the window than outside. Though, he was also curious to see if the messenger really did climb the tree.

And apparently the messenger did! Because there Shuuzou appeared, looking in through his window.

Seijuurou peeked out a bit from his hiding spot when hearing noise. His eyes widened when seeing his mystery messenger was just another little boy like him. He was inwardly questioning if what was going on was really real, but then spotted the flowers. When seeing the beautiful little bouquet, Seijuurou knew it was.

Carefully, Seijuurou got out of his hiding place. He went around the bed to go to the window. It seemed he was too careful and quiet, the other boy still staring at the other flowers by the other window.

"Hello?" Seijuurou finally called out.

Hearing the sudden voice shocked Shuuzou. He jumped from being startled, beginning to lose his balance on the branch. With a yelp, he tried to save himself my grabbing ahold of the ledge of the window. As he did so, Shuuzou noticed little hands helping save him as well.

Shuuzou looked up and there Seijuurou was, grabbing ahold of his shirt to prevent him from falling. With the other boy's help, Shuuzou crawled in through the window, the two of them heavily breathing afterwards from the suspense.

"Thanks," Shuuzou said with a chuckle.

Seijuurou smiled softly back, making Shuuzou's heart skip a beat. "You're welcome."

The room went back to silence. Shuuzou was furiously blushing as he avoided Seijuurou's eyes, rubbing the back of his neck. Seijuurou didn't meet Shuuzou's eyes either, opting to look at the floor bashfully.

"Um—"

"Who—"

The two of them blurted at the same time, stopping instantly with a laugh afterwards. "You first," Shuuzou said.

Seijuurou finally looked Shuuzou in the eye. "Who are you? You're the one leaving the flowers, aren't you?"

"Y-yeah," Shuuzou answered, blush coming back. "I'm Shuuzou. I, uh, pass by a lot on the way to the fields and, uh, heard you playing the violin. It's really pretty. Your playing."

A light blush grew on Seijuurou's cheeks as well. "Thank you. And thank you for the flowers. They're really petty as well. D-do… do you really mean them?"

Shuuzou was slightly confused by what Seijuurou asked. He wasn't aware the smaller boy was talking about each bouquet's meaning, believing Seijuurou meant if Shuuzou really meant to give him the flowers.

"Of course," Shuuzou answered obliviously, a smile growing when seeing Seijuurou's blush grow.

"But you don't even know myname," Seijuurou blurted.

"It's Seijuurou," Shuuzou responded. "I, uh, heard your mom calling your name before. Is that creepy? Oh my gosh it is! I'm sorry."

"No, no," Seijuurou reassured. "I mean… I find it all charming."

Shuuzou's smile resurfaced. He then remembered the other bouquet he left on the windowsill. "Oh yeah!" He looked over and found it now lying on the floor. Probably fell during the scrambled.

Shuuzou rushed to pick it up, two red roses intertwined within a viscaria bouquet. He then went back to Seijuurou. Finally, he could give the boy the flowers face to face. Though, the face Seijuurou made wasn't what Shuuzou had been expecting.

Seijuurou's eyes widened, smiling dropping. He still took the bouquet into his hands, but were staring with some uncertainty behind his eyes. Ever since learning the meaning behind the past flowers, Seijuurou went ahead and learned the meaning of other flowers. The meaning behind two intertwined roses…

"But, Shuuzou-san, we just met. And I'm still only 9," Seijuurou said once looking back at Shuuzou.

Shuuzou's face went blank. "What?"

"It might be better if we got to know each other better first," Seijuurou added.

"…What?" Shuuzou repeated.

"The roses?" Seijuurou questioned. "Marriage?"

"What!?" Shuuzou yelled, eyes widening to the size of dishes. He also wasn't the only one who shouted, he and Seijuurou turning to the window and seeing Kotarou, Reo, and Eikichi watching from the branch.

"Mako-chan, what did you do!?" Reo yelled down to Makoto, who was still on the ground with Teppei.

Hearing Reo calling Makoto's name made Shuuzou realize the flower boy pulled something on him. He ran over to the window, spotting said flower boy cracking up laughing. Teppei was beside Makoto with a confused look.

"Makoto!" Shuuzou yelled, red from both embarrassment and anger.

"That's what you get for teasing Teppei and me!" Makoto smugly yelled back, taking Teppei's hand and running.

"Mako-chan!" Reo squealed this time, quickly making his way down with an astonished smile. He and the others didn't miss how Makoto was basically standing up for him and Teppei nor how Teppei was goofily smiling and blushing as Makoto ran off with him.

"Dang! What got into Makoto?" Eikichi yelled in amazement as well, his booming voice letting out a laugh while he jumped down and followed.

"Bye, Shuuzou! Seijuurou!" Kotarou said back to the two still inside before starting to climb down. "See you at the fields!" he shouted, running to join the others.

"You guys…" Shuuzou hissed, practically steaming from anger and embarrassment.

"So I'm guessing you don't know flower language," Seijuurou concluded, smiling once again.

Shuuzou turned anxiously back to Seijuurou. Seeing the look on Shuuzou's face made Seijuurou gently laugh before explaining the meaning behind each bouquet Shuuzou gave him. With the latest bouquet, the viscaria meant 'dance with me?' while the intertwined red roses meant 'marry me.'

"I'm gonna kill him!" Shuuzou yelled out the window at his friends no longer there.

Seijuurou smiled even more, enjoying seeing more to Shuuzou. He looped his arms around Shuuzou's, linking them together. This seemed to halt Shuuzou's fury.

"Do you still mean them?" Seijuurou asked.

Shuuzou looked confusedly back at Seijuurou before realizing what he meant. Bashfully smiling, he answered, "Yeah. But the roses," he quickly threw in, "maybe wait a bit on that."

Seijuurou giggled, nodding his head.

That very afternoon, Seijuurou joined Shuuzou and his group at the flower fields. He got to know everyone, though through Reo than Shuuzou. Shuuzou was too busy trying to tackle Makoto to the ground. Sadly, Teppei was getting in his way.

"Can I plan your wedding, Sei-chan?" Reo asked, doll eyed. Seijuurou had just explained each flower. Reo took Seijuurou's soft hands into his. "It'll be absolutely beautiful!"

"You could probably double up with Makoto and Teppei," Eikichi teased.

"Speaking of Makoto and Teppei," Kotarou cut in. He was still watching the turmoil. "Think we should do something?"

Seijuurou, Reo, and Eikichi turned to the others, seeing Makoto making faces at Shuuzou, who was in Teppei's grasp, the peacekeeper of the mini group sadly struggling to hold Shuuzou back.

"I think I have an idea," Seijuurou said, unclasping the clasps to the violin case he brought along.

With an air of grace, Seijuurou stood with his violin. With just as much elegance, the first melody of strings sounded. The arguing stopped with all eyes on Seijuurou.

The song suddenly picked up, turning cheery. Smiles grew as did the desire to move. Kotarou was the first on his feet, dancing along. Teppei followed soon after, taking Makoto's hand, the smaller boy not pulling away. Reo joined Kotarou with Eikichi, the three of them spinning in a silly circle.

Shuuzou watched his friends and their silly dancing, smiling as he went over to Seijuurou.

Seijuurou smiled back when Shuuzou stood beside him. "You wanted a dance, right?" he asked, talking about the last bouquet.

Shuuzou let out a laugh, beginning to dance along like the others as well with Seijuurou rocking on his feet and doing his best to 'dance' while still playing.

Music filled the fields of flowers, the violin attracting some passing by. The little group of dancing children grew with a handful of others joining to dance and listen as well.

However, Shuuzou knew that Seijuurou was playing just for him. After all, messages from music can be just as powerful as flower messages.

* * *

 _btw guys, in chinese and maybe apanese culture(?) (others too? idk) it's bad to give white flowers bc they mean death or something, so don't actually do that. anywho! hope you all enjoyed this! also took me FOREVER to get done! sorry if any of the flower meaning stuff is off bc once again i used google! thanks for reading!_


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